This pole-centred roundel of warm-in-cold is symptomatic of what climatologists call the negative phase of the Arctic oscillation (AO).

ECONOMIST: Britain��s cold snap is explained by the Arctic oscillation

Each roundel acted as a chimney, with a fire at its base and bundles of hops laid in overhead rooms to be dried.

WSJ: The Oast: A Quirky English Outpost��WSJ Mansion

He wore a bulbous red helmet with a Royal Air Force roundel sticker and he buried himself, ripping time away from competitors like Germany's Tony Martin, Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, and his own Team GB colleague, Chris Froome.

WSJ: 2012 London Olympics: Bradley Wiggins: The Reluctant King of Cycling - Jason Gay

In the fiercely conformist world of professional sport, Wiggins, a self-styled mod, has always cut an idiosyncratic figure, discreetly customizing his Team GB cycling helmet and bike with the Royal Air Force roundel co-opted by The Who as a symbol of the musical subculture in the 1960s.

CNN: Wiggins' victory brings the Games back to the people